What social robots can teach America's students
Social robots – robots that can talk and mimic and respond to human emotion – have been introduced into classrooms around the world.
- Social robots – robots that can talk and mimic and respond to human emotion – have been introduced into classrooms around the world.
- Because social robots have a body, humans react to them differently than we do to a computer screen.
- To understand how social robots could affect teaching, graduate student Raisa Gray and I introduced a 4-foot-tall humanoid robot called “Pepper” into a public elementary and middle school in the U.S. Our research revealed many problems with the current generation of social robots, making it unlikely that social robots will be running classrooms anytime soon.
Not ready for prime time
- Children and social robots are not allowed to freely interact with each other without the assistance, or intervention, of researchers.
- Only a few studies have used social robots in real-life classroom settings.
Limited social skills
- For example, the current generation of social robots cannot interact with a small group and, for example, track multiple people’s facial expressions.
- Also, unless a bar code or other identification device is used, today’s social robots cannot recognize individuals.
- This makes it very unlikely for them to have realistic social interactions.
Dialogue is preprogrammed
- To get the robot to perform, our students had to master the tutorials that came with the robot.
- Some students quickly figured out that the robot could respond only to certain basic routines.
- When a robot fails to answer a question, or responds in the wrong way, students realize the robot isn’t really understanding them and that the robot’s dialogue is preprogrammed.
Cannot move around classroom with ease
- Students who have seen YouTube videos of robotic dogs that run and jump may be disappointed to realize that most social robots can’t move around a classroom with ease.
- The teachers in our study were disappointed that Pepper couldn’t bring them coffee.
What social robots can teach kids
- While the social robots currently used in schools are finicky and limited in functions, they can still provide useful learning experiences.
- The opportunity to work hands-on with a social robot shows students how difficult it is to program robots to mimic human behavior.
- Social robots can also provide students with important learning opportunities about artificial intelligence.
Gerald K. LeTendre receives funding from Harry L. Batschelet II Endowed Chair within the College of Education, The Pennsylvania State University